Ignition device



R. 4VREELAND ET AL Jan. 29, 1929. l 1,700,603

- nl lllllllllll IGNITION DEVICE Filed Nov. l?, 192'? f3- .Z Z/ wim Ess 7 KM; e f W/TTORNEYS Patented 29, 1929.

UNITED STATES- PATENT o=FlcE.

RICHARD vlEELA'ND, 0F BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, AND JAMES F. LEAHY, OF

BaooigLYN,

NEW YORK.

IGNITION DEVICE.

Application led November 17, 1927. Serial No. 233,810.

This invention relates to ignition devices for internal combustion engines and has for its object to improve the conditions under which ignition takes place; to enable an engine of this character to be operated more economically; and to render it more effective.

One of the objects of our invention is to provide an improved mount for4 spark plugs 1o whereby the sparking terminals may be arranged ina chamber wherein pressures substantially Vat or near atmosphere may be maintained, thus making it possible to secure longer spark-gaps and to use leaner mixtures `where desired.

Another object of the present invention isto provide an improved attachment whereby spark plugs of usual construction may be i connected up to thecylinder of an internal combustion engine for the purpose of securing the advantages referred to above.

Other and -urther objects of invention will appear in the specication, the novel features related thereto being recited in the claims. y The principle of-our invention isexemplified in the drawings, in which Figure 1 is an axial section of one embodiment of our invention according to which a Sowsfpark plug of well-known type is mounted in an improved relation to the cylinder of an internal combustion engine as hereinafter described.

Figurel 2 is a similar axial section showing a modified use of our improved device with other parts. Figure 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective View of the ballvalve yokev detached.

According to the preferred embodiment of our invention shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, a housing 1 for the terminal end of a spark'plug is provided with a tubular .45 neck or extension 2' adapted to be threaded into a wall 3 of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine. The inner wall of tulbular extension 2 is provided with screwthread-s 4 adapted to inter-engage with the k oppositely threaded portions 5, 5 of a yoke, shown best in Figure 4, and comprising an annulus 6 at one end, connected by laterally spaced arms 7, 7 to a cross-piece 8. As sho-Wn in Figure 3, the arms 7, 7 are provided with 'concaved inneredges to form a suitable ball race for one or more balls 9 which are thereby suitably arranged to be moved to and fro with respect to a portopening 10 formed in the bottom wall of the housin 1 and arranged to permit the passage o gases between an ignition chamber 11 formed withinfthe housing 1 and the] space formed within the bore of thel lug or extension 2.v The proportioning o parts around the 'port opening 10 is such that when the balls 9 are in their position of rest, said port opening is restricted and lpa-rtially throttled by said balls. If desired, the cross-piece 8 of the yoke may be provided With a port-opening 12 to aord a more direct line of pressure between the interior of ,the cylinder 3 and the ignition chamber 11. A spark plug 13 of wellyknown type may be employed with our improved connection, said spark plug being provided with a threaded portion 14 adapted to be screwed into the upper wall of housing 1 in such away as to bring the sparking terminals 15 and 16 within.' the ignitionl chamber 11. Said spark plug is provided with a lead wire 17. If desired, the housing 1 may be provided with an aperture 18 which is closed by a glass disc 19, an annular nut 20 being threaded'into the adjaing 21 may be provided to connect the ignition chamberl 11 with the outside' atmosphere, the function of this port being to prevent, where required', a rise of pressure within the chamber 11. Ordinarily, however, it is preferable to have the port-opening 21 sealed by means of a threaded plug 22. Under lthese conditions, the pressure in chamber 11 will rise in a slight degree only 4above atmosphere due to the action of the ball valve 9 in closing port 10. Under some conditions, it may be desired to have the ignition chamber 11 momentariiy open to the atmosphere at each explosion. yFor this purpose, av tubular nipple 23 may be threaded into the housing 1 in alinement with the port-opening 21, said nipple being provided with a central borez24 within which are disposed one or more balls 25, the outermost ball being adapted tooperate as a valve in mixture is lnipplied from the gaseous mixture in explosion cylinder 3, during the compression stroke of the engine. Thus, as the l, pressure rises in cylinder 3, a sutiicientbody of gas enters the chamber 11 through portopening 10 before said port is closed by. the uppermost ball 9. At the same time, the closing of said port 10 maintains a pressure in chamber l1 at or about that of theatmosphere so that the sparking action between terminals 15 and 16 is greatly facilitated. For example, where the spark gap may ordinarily amount to but 1/32 of an inch, with the improved device according to our invention, this spark gap maybe made as large as 1/4 of an. inch. Furthermore, it thus becomes possible to make use of a leaner gas mixture both within the cylinder of the engine and within the ignition chamber 11, than would be the case where the pressure of t-he gas around the sparking terminals was as high as it becomes in the cylinder duringI compression. Upon ignition of the mixture in chamber 11, the resultant 'rapid expansion in saidl chamber forces the balls 9 downwardly, the flame escaping from chamber 1l into the cylinder 3, and thus 'effecting a rapid combustion of the main body of explosive mixture within cylinder 3.

Referring now to the embodiment of our invention shown in Figure 2, it will be understood that the conditions within chamber 11 are such as to produce onlyl a small fraction of the usual heating effects about the terminals of the spark plugs. According to Figure 2, a modified form of spark plug is indicated at 26 said spark plug being provided with a lead wire 27 which is connected up with a terminal 28 within the ignition chamber 11 of the housing l. According to the modified use of our device, as shown in this figure of the drawings, however, the ignition mixture may be introduced to chamberl 11 from a separate source. Thus, for example, a tubular conveyor 29 may be employed in connection with a Stewart vacuum fuel feed tank, one end of said tube being connected by a coupling 30 with the outer end of a nipple 31, the outer end of said nipple being provided with a port-opening 32 which is adapted to be closed during the explosion by means of the outermost ball of a series of balls 33. A Cotter pin 34 is arranged to prevent the inward movements of balls 33 and thereby prevents the closing of port-opening 21 into the chamber 11. According to this modified adaptation of our invention, the gaseous mixture entering through tube 29 may be of a different quality from that introduced to the explosion cylinder. During compression, the uppermost ball 9 closes the port-opening 10 and is immediately thereafter forced downwardly under the ignition of the gaseous mixture in .chamber 1l following which the main body of gas in cylinder 3 takes place as described above.

Weclaim: l. An ignition device for internal combustion engines, said ignition device comprising a 'spark-plug, and a housing forming an ignition chamber aroundv the sparking terminals of said spark-plug, said housing be-v ing provided with an inlet port for explosive mixture, and a valve for controlling the admission of explosive mixture through said inlet port.

2. The combination with a spark-plugattachment for internal combustion engines,

minals of said spark-plug being arranged' within said ignition chamber, a tubular neck for connecting said attachment to the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, said attachment being provided with a port-openleo 'v ing between said ignition chamber and the interior of said tubular neck, and a valve for said port-opening.

4. An attachmentAfor internal combustion engines, said attachment being provided wit-h a socket for the reception of a sparkplug and with a hollow plug for connecting it to the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, said attachment being further provided with an ignition chamber for the reception of the sparking terminals of said spark-plug and with a valve-controlled port-opening between said ignition chamber apd the interior of said hollow attachment p ug.

5. In an ignition device for internal combustion engines, the combination with a terminal housing for spark-plugs, said housing being adapted to be connected to the cylinder of an internal combustion engine and provided with an ignition chamber, of a spark-plug connected to said housing with the sparking terminals thereof disposed within said ignition chamber, said housing being provided with two port-openings, an inwardly-closing valve for one of said portopenings, and an outwardly-closing valve for the other of said port-openings. f'

6. An attachment for spark-plugs, said attachment comprising a central body portionv provided with an ignition chamber, a threaded socket for the reception of a sparkplug, a tubular neck adapted to'be threaded into the Wall of an internal combustion cylinder, and with a valved port-opening be.- tvveen said tubular neck and said ignition chamber.

7. In an ignition device for internal combustion engines, the combination with a terminal housing for spark-plugs, said housing being provided With an ignition chamber, a tubular neck adapted to be threaded into the Wall of a cylinder of an internal combustion motor, and a socket opening for the reception of a sparkplug, of a sparkplug threaded into said socket-opening with the sparking terminals disposed Within said ignition chamber, said housing being provided with a port-opening between said i nition chamber and tubular neck, an inwar ly-closing valve for said port-opening, and a conveyor tube for ignition mixture connected to said ignition chamber.

8. In an ignition device for internal. com- `bustion engines, the combination with a terminal housing for spark-plugs, said housing being provided Wit-h an ignition chamber, a tubular neck adapted to be threaded into the Wall of a cylinder of an internal combustion motor, and a socket opening,r for the'reception of a spark-plug, of a sparkplug threaded into said socket-opening with the sparking terminals disposed Within said ignition chamber, said housing being provided With a port-opening between said ignition chamber and tubular neck, an inwardly-closing valve for said port opening,

and a conveyor tube for ignition mixture connected to said ignition chamber, .said conveyor for ignition mixture being provided With a valved port-opening adapted to be closed under pressure developed in said chamber during ignition.

9. In an ignition device for internal combustion engines, the combination with a terminal housing for spark-plugs, said housing being provided with an ignition chamber, a. tubular neck adapted to be threaded into the Wall of a cylinder of an internal combustion motor, and a socket opening for the reception of a spark-plug, of a sparkplug threaded into said spark-plug socket opening with the sparking terminals thereof disposed Within said ignition chamber, said housing being provided With a port-opening between'said ignition chamber and tubular neck, av ball-guiding yoke threaded into said tubular neck, and a ball-valve movable in said yoke into and outvof position to close said port-opening.

l0. An attachment for spark-plugs, said attachment comprising a central body portion provided 'with anignition chamber and a threaded socket for the reception of a spark-plug, a tubular neck adapted vto be threaded into the Wall of an internal combustion cylinder, said tubular neck being provided with a valved port-opening in communication with said ignition chamber, a yoke threaded into said-tubular neck, and a ball-valve movable in said yoke into and out of position to close said port-opening.

RICHARD VREELAND. JAMES F. LEAHY. 

